A recently conducted study shows that 75%-80% of males in America are addicted to porn; the overwhelming majority of whom are teens under the legal age limit of 18 years. It is a sad moment and one that must make us seriously think about the future of our children. Research proves that nature has wired the brains of men in such a complex matrix that pornography “hijacks” or hampers its normal functioning and, in addition, has long-lasting effects on their lives.

Lynn Hunt, in his book titled “The Invention of Pornography: Obscenity and the Origins of Modernity” defines pornography as:

“The written or visual presentation of any genital or sexual behavior with a deliberate violation of existing and widely accepted moral and social taboos…explicit depiction of sexual organs and sexual practices with the aim of arousing sexual feelings.”

Inherent in this definition is the notion that pornography is not a new phenomena but has been present as far back as the recorded history of man. It was prevalent among the earliest of civilizations, and back then took the form of ritual religious worship in some cultures, especially in Babylon, Sumer and Egypt, where fertility rites, in the form of communal orgies, were prevalent .In Vedic India, there were a host of religious sects devoted to the worship of gods and goddesses, specifically pertaining to fertility rites. These different modes of sex and sexual postures are preserved in the famous religious scrolls “Kama Sutra” and graphic statues in temples and caves all over India.

This trend of equating sex with some mode of religious worship is also present among the Greeks and early Romans, specifically before the adoption of Christianity as the state religion of Rome by Charlemagne and even then some cults practised these rites though not openly as before but surreptitiously as underground occult cultures.

Ancient Greco-Roman artifacts like statues, carvings and pottery with paintings of people engaged in sex are common. When in the 1700’s archaeologists dug up the city of Pompeii, destroyed by a huge volcanic eruption in 79 A.D., various murals, wall paintings and frescoes were unearthed depicting various sexual activities.

From the rudimentary drawings by the cavemen to the artistically finished pieces of Vedic India and the Greco-Roman art, it is evident that pornography existed in all ages and times, but since the late 19 and the early 20 century, it has taken the form that we are deeply averse to as a society as a whole.

It is so because the female body which once took on the sacramental form of Ishtar and Isis of the Babylonians and Egyptians; Artemis and Aphrodite of the Greeks and later on Venus and Diana of the Romans has been “commodified” into something banal; something to be shunned rather than to be admired or worshiped.

It is sad that we have reached a stage in human evolution where we are “bombarded” by pornography with the advent of the internet. The repeated exposure to porn has a damaging effect on the psyche of our youth. According to the research in America 40 million people visit internet porn sites, at least once a month. An astounding 25% daily internet search engines requests are for porn ; and 35% of all the downloads are pornographic in nature. The research shows that the most regular porn users are 75%-80% male, though, the number of females is also on the rise. A very alarming statistic is that the largest consumer group of porn is the American teens.

According to the latest research, initially this habit is harmless fun and is only limited to masturbation, but prolonged exposure results in addiction as strong as that of cocaine, heroin or alcohol. And in time this porn addiction turns into unhealthy relationships and one night stands. While prolonged and compulsive internet use to view porn has been one of the main causes of divorce in the United States since 2002__ this has been documented by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. According to their records 50% of the divorces in present day America are the direct result of viewing pornographic material over the internet.

But this is only one aspect of the seepage of pornography in our society, apart from the psychological and physical ailments that are a direct result of watching pornographic material the more dangerous aspects of this addiction __ because of the great demand for the pornographic material__ are such heinous crimes as human trafficking, especially child trafficking and related evils include use of drugs which in turn lead to diseases as HIV.

Again I stress it is a sad juncture in our history because teens living in underdeveloped countries are being nominated for the most prestigious prizes in the world while American teens with all the amenities and facilities available to them have nothing better to do than waste their precious time on watching Miley twerk, smoke pot and get addicted to porn.